Game News Resident Evil 4: 5 things the remake must absolutely fix!
In its recent State of Play, PlayStation proved the rumors right by unveiling the remake of Resident Evil 4, a cult horror game originally released in 2005. A few details have been given in passing, but one question naturally comes to mind: what could Capcom do to improve, develop this popular game? Here is our little opinion on the matter.
Yes, you are not dreaming, the remake of Resident Evil 4 is a reality! It was PlayStation that put an end to the suspense, in a State of Play broadcast on the night of Thursday to last Friday. Release date: March 24, 2023 on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series. Prepare your calendar, the beautiful Leon is about to return to save Ashley, the daughter of the American president. On the program: rewritten scenario “while retaining the main plot”, modernized gameplay and – of course – graphics worthy of the best triple-As. “We want fans of the series to find what made the success of the game, while injecting new and refreshing elements” can we learn on the PlayStation-Blog. It only remains to see what these famous elements will be. Five ideas!
MODERNIZE THE GAMEPLAY
As we have just seen, Capcom intends to bring a touch of polish to the gameplay of Resident Evil 4, which marked at the time a major evolution for the license with a focus on action and a third-person camera. And even if the title remains quite playable to this day, we would not say no to some improvements. First with regard to the range of movements of the hero Léon S. Kennedy: in 2005, the poor man could not not advance and fire at the same time ! Admittedly, this makes the character more vulnerable – therefore the action more stressful – but it’s not really a modern mechanic anymore. So, in the continuity of the remake of Resident Evil 2 (Léon is also the main character there) Capcom will have to soften the gameplay of this fourth episode. We also think of knife control, hand-to-hand combat, QTEs. Conversely, certain points such as the management of the briefcase deserve to be kept.
A RETURN TO HORROR
Of course, Resident Evil isn’t just gymnastic moves to kill zombies. With Resident Evil 7 and then, to a lesser extent, Resident Evil 8, Capcom was able to bring the series back to horror with a more detailed atmosphere than ever and a first-person camera. What’s more, the eighth part seems to completely echo the fourth, striking the balance between neat atmosphere and emphasis on action. Of course, the company will rely on all this know-how to create a quality game. The first trailer also reveals beautiful environments, with a different color palette and a truly improved level of detail. On the Capcom site, we can learn that the development team includes many people who worked on the remake of Resident Evil 2. In short, it promises.
IMPROVE THE SCENARIO
With its isolated European village, the cult of the Los Illuminados and its colorful monsters, Resident Evil 4 set up a very particular folklore which undoubtedly contributed to its fame. But of course there are things to improve. According to Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, the story of the fourth part deserves to be revised upwards in the remake. Because yes, you are not unaware that we still do not know where does the famous Merchant come from? and that we would not refuse either other details on Luis Sera, ex-Spanish policeman who will support Léon. Same thing for the Salazar Family, at the origin of the Los Illuminados. After all, this is the strength of a remake: to discover a classic video game while providing answers to certain gray areas: the remake of Resident Evil 2 had thus integrated new scenes.
GIVING MEANING TO ASHLEY
We were talking about the gameplay above, but there are phases and a whole section of the main adventure that has stuck in the throats of many fans. Yes, Ashley, the president’s daughter that Leon has to save. As soon as you find her, she will regularly ask for help during the action scenes. And in general, it is more considered a burden only as a well-thought-out game element, not least because of a wobbly artificial intelligence. Same observation when it is necessary to direct it: these moments clearly did not remain in the memories. It is therefore an obvious project that Capcom must tackle. Why not imagine that Ashley could help out during the fights – as far as possible – or that the phases in her company put more emphasis than ever on horror, where our Leon’s specialty would remain action? ?
FIRST PERSON VIEW?
We finally end with a fifth “bonus” point. What if Resident Evil 4 Remake relied on a camera for the first time, à la Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil 8? Because for the moment, the choice of the angle in the third person (as in the basic game) has not yet been formalized by the Capcom teams. This remains unlikely, insofar as the fourth episode precisely bases its fame on a TPS view, so much so that it is almost inseparable from its identity. Yes, the plans of the trailer suggest a third person camera. But all the same, this kind of audacity would make it possible to rediscover Resident Evil 4 more than ever! Have.